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College Basketball Tip-off: Shockers at it again, Top 25 buzz, headlines and matchups

Cleanthony Early

Wichita State's Cleanthony Early celebrates after hitting a 3-point basket against Evansville during a first-half rally of an NCAA college basketball game in Wichita, Kan., Saturday, Feb. 1, 2014. (AP Photo/The Wichita Eagle, Travis Heying) LOCAL TV OUT; MAGAZINES OUT; LOCAL RADIO OUT; LOCAL INTERNET OUT

Here's a look at the big matchups and top storylines from around the nation as we begin another busy weekend of college basketball action:

The Big Buzz: Not so Shock(er)ing

Don't look now but it's getting to be that time for Wichita State. The Shockers just cleared their last major hurdle of the regular season on Wednesday by winning at Indiana State, and are now 24-0 with seven games remaining before the Missouri Valley Conference tournament.

The Sycamores are as stiff as the competition gets in the MVC but as he's done all season, Wichita State's Cleanthony Early rose to the occasion against them, sealing the win with a three-point play in the final minute. With Early, Ron Baker and the appropriately named Fred VanFleet in tow, it's time for the nation to start wondering whether or not the Shockers can run the table.

What makes this Wichita State team so dangerous is that their bread and butter -- defense and rebounding -- doesn't waver from game to game. They specialize in attributes typical of well-coached and disciplined teams.

The Shockers rank 19th in the nation in rebounding and 11th in scoring defense. They have the eighth-most efficient defense and the 31st-most efficient offense while only allowing their opponents to grab 25.2 percent of their misses, the fourth-lowest percentage in all the land. They don't turn the ball over on offense, they find their way to the free throw line often and they make you pay when they get there.

In short, they have yet to be beaten because they never beat themselves. And unlike the mid-major du jour of years past, this Wichita State team can say they've been there before. They even have the Final Four banner to prove it hanging in the rafters of Koch Arena.

Their miracle run last March makes their claim for legitimacy a unique one, but college basketball traditionalists are sure to ask the same questions they always have. Why should we respect them? Why do they deserve a No. 1 seed? Whether they reel off 10 more wins or not, perhaps the better question this time around is -- why not?

The Sycamores were, and are, probably the second-best team in the Valley and have combustible, unflinching veterans across the roster. It was never going to come easy. That the Shockers acted as such underscored why they might be even better prepared for a Final Four run than the team that made one a year ago.

But Early can be a closer when the Shockers need one, whether they're playing MVC competition in the coming weeks or high majors in the Big Dance. Early had 24 points, 10 rebounds and a block against eventual national champion Louisville in the Final Four last season...

Early is capable of doing what he did on Wednesday against top-25 teams. He has already proven that.

The Shockers are sixth in RPI and 11th in BPI going into the weekend. Having already beaten each of their next six opponents by double digits, that doesn't seem likely to change.

So get used to it. Or if you can't, maybe watching Early and company take down the Sycamores will do the trick, courtesy of WIBW in Topeka:

Top games

Here's a look at some of this weekend's can't-miss matchups involving teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25:

Kansas center Joel Embiid (21) goes up for a shot as Perry Ellis (34) watches in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Baylor, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2014, in Waco, Texas. Kansas won 69-52. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Barnes does not have any player on his roster this season, his 16th at Texas, who possesses [Kevin] Durant's talent - not close - but he has a locker room full of players, all underclassmen, who share Durant's other hallmarks: unselfishness, high character, a steeled work ethic.

Standing content following his second straight single-digit outing, Stauskas smiled Wednesday and said, "(If defenses are) going to try to limit my amount of touches, my amount of shots, I'm OK with it. If I take three shots and we win by 40 every game that's better than having a close game and me taking 15, 20 shots. So I ride with it."

More often than not, offense drives the show. And, yes, when you combine these things -- great guard play, attacking offense and so-so defense, plus a raucous home environment and indirect résumé implications -- that's what you are bound to get: a show.

A 6-foot-4 shooting guard, Kilpatrick seemingly has unlimited range, which makes him difficult to defend one-on-one. He's only been held under 10 points once all season, and that was a one-point win against Pittsburgh...

As a senior, he's come back as a smarter player, who knows when to take the right shot. Most importantly, he's still as capable of knocking down the big shot as anyone out there.

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